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A man in his 60s eating lunch at a Breckenridge, Colo., restaurant has reason to be grateful that a firefighter’s skill set goes far beyond dousing flames.
Erin McCormick, a four-year firefighter with the Bellevue Fire Department, came to the man’s rescue July 2 when he began choking on food.
McCormick, who was lunching at the same restaurant with her family, was alerted to the choking man by her brother, Eric, who knew she was trained to deal with such crises.
“He was to my back and my brother noticed the family panicking so he called my name,” McCormick said.
“I performed the Heimlich maneuver and we got the food out of his airway pretty quickly, which was important because it can go bad very quickly when you don’t have an airway.”
McCormick’s father, Bruce, who was also present, posted on his Facebook page that his daughter’s action was “a testament to the fine training and dedication of first responders.”
He said his daughter was calm, professional and effective.
“Erin jumped up and firmly but calmly told the man he would have to try to stand up so she could get behind him,” Bruce wrote.
“He was a big man, pushing 6 feet and well over 200 pounds.”
He said it took three attempts to dislodge the food, but that within 90 seconds the man was breathing freely and Erin was receiving tearful hugs from the man’s relieved family.
“She just leaped right up, took care of it, sat back down and we continued eating.”
Erin said the grateful man paid for her family’s meal, a gesture she said was generous but unnecessary.
